“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NIV).
How do these two halves of the verse work together? What do the three attributes of the Son have to do with coming to the Father?
If we perceive Jesus in the three ways He identified Himself in the first sentence, then we are already on the way to God through Jesus. It indicates that the Holy Spirit has shown us who the Son is and we have pursued this relationship. Let’s explain.
1 Corinthians 2 tells us that no one can understand spiritual matters unless the Spirit reveals them to us. “What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us” (2:12).
We cannot figure out spiritual truths with human intellect alone. God must reveal Himself to us. We must be born again and be spiritually revived. “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:6).
When the Holy Spirit has revealed to us the three traits of the first sentence, then we are learning of Jesus the Spirit-led way, which assures us of making it to the Father, the second sentence.
We cannot make it to the Father except through the person of Jesus Christ. How do we know we are making it through Jesus?
The Way, or Path
If you see Christ as your example and are walking in His steps to be like Him, then you are on the way to the Father through Jesus. “He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3). This pursuit only happens as the Holy Spirit opens our understanding of the word, and we follow up on what we learned.
The Truth
If you are believing Jesus in spite of your past, your feelings, or the chaotic philosophies of the world, then you know the truth, for Jesus has been revealing Himself to you as such. “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). If you knew the truth, you didn’t seek it apart from Jesus.
The Life
If you are enjoying your fellowship with the Father and the Son, then you know His life. This relationship defines you and is a result of a Spirit-led desire to know Him more. “This is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3).
Jesus explains in John 14:21 and 23 what steps He uses to reveal Himself to us. What we do with His words will determine if we are pursuing Him, or following the ideas or practices of a religion. “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them” (14:21).
If we have His word and keep it, Jesus will manifest Himself or guide us to know Him in these three ways (among others). If we are not taking His word and putting it into practice, then we have no assurance that we are making it to the Father. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also” (John 8:19).
Without Him, we are making our own path, choosing the truths that make sense to us, and defining our lives by the self-identity we fabricate. If we know only ethical standards of conduct or church rules of good behavior to follow, then we may not be on the way.
Only through faith and obedience to the word do we imitate Christ’s own attitude to the Father, and progressively become one with the Father and Son, and are sharers with His divine nature (1 Peter 1:4). Through faith and obedience we stay on the Path of righteousness, embrace the Truth, and experience Life as the indwelling Son lives through us.
